Posted on 01/03/2010 4:04:28 PM PST by MinorityRepublican
Minneapolis, MN (Sports Network) - Brett Favre threw four touchdown passes as the Vikings pummeled a listless Giants team, 44-7, to close out the regular- season on a high note.
Favre ended with 316 yards passing on 25-of-31 attempts and notched 30-plus TD passes for the ninth time in his career -- an NFL record -- while going over 4,000 yards passing for a sixth time.
Sidney Rice caught six passes for 112 yards and two of those scores while Visanthe Shiancoe totaled 94 yards on seven receptions with a touchdown.
Adrian Peterson ran for a score and 54 yards on nine touches for Minnesota (12-4), which will have to wait until later in the day to find out its playoff seeding thanks to a December slide.
Once a virtual lock to earn an opening-round bye in the playoffs at 10-1 entering December, the Vikings lost three of the next four games, including setbacks to Carolina and Chicago over the previous two weeks to fall out of the driver's seat.
That turn of events put 11-4 Philadelphia in position to claim the NFC's No. 2 seed with a win over Dallas later in the day. The Vikings emphatic win eliminates the Cowboys and Cardinals from claiming a bye.
"It's a nice momentum boost, exactly what we needed," Favre said of the lopsided final. "That in itself doesn't guarantee any sort of draw, but it's important that we can play that way."
Eli Manning completed a high percentage of passes despite the blowout but also threw an interception and lost a fumble. He finished 17-of-23 for 141 yards.
Third-year running back Danny Ware logged his first NFL touchdown to represent the only points for New York (8-8), which was eliminated from playoff contention with last week's equally humiliating 41-9 shellacking by Carolina in the team's final game at Giants Stadium.
The Giants closed out the season with eight defeats in their final 11 games after getting out to a promising 5-0 start and are postseason spectators for the first time in five years. The incredible free fall, which included being outscored 85-16 in the season's final two weeks, was a far cry from New York's 2008 campaign where it secured the NFC's top seed for the playoffs after claiming the NFC East title with a 12-4 record.
"That's why they are in the position they're in," a frustrated Giants coach Tom Coughlin said in conceding credit to the Vikings. "One year ago today, we were in that position. The last two games have been very poor and we could never, ever accept what happened on the field. I am very disappointed."
A certain result was determined only two quarters in as Minnesota tied a franchise record for its largest lead at the half after rolling to a 31-0 advantage.
The Vikings amassed a whopping 343 yards of offense to New York's 82 over the opening 30 minutes. Twenty-six of the Giants' yards came on a meaningless dump-off to Ahmad Bradshaw on the final play of the first half.
The scoring barrage began right from the outset as Favre capped Minnesota's opening drive with a 10-yard TD pass to Shiancoe. The first quarter came to a close with the Vikings in the midst of their second scoring odyssey and Ryan Longwell kicked a 36-yard field goal moments into the fresh frame for a 10-0 game.
A 91-yard drive found the end zone in six plays a short time later as Minnesota extended its lead to 17-0. A 50-yard completion to Rice and a 27- yard hookup with Shiancoe helped set up Peterson's one-yard romp across the goal-line.
A second straight sub four-minute scoring trek pushed the lead to 24-0 after Favre found Rice across the middle on a four-yard TD strike.
Minnesota had the ball back at the Giants' 40 in short order after a turnover on the next play from scrimmage and owned a 31-0 lead shortly thereafter with Favre lofting a jump ball to the back right corner of the end zone for Rice, who came down with the 12-yard score just before halftime.
Longwell's 24-yard boot finished off the hosts' first drive of the new half for a 34-0 difference. Manning was sacked by Jared Allen and fumbled it back to the Vikings two plays later at his own eight. Minnesota moved it to the one for a fourth-down play and Brad Childress left it in the hands of Favre, who found fullback Naufahu Tahi for his fourth TD pass on the day.
Tarvaris Jackson was called in to lead the offense with the score 41-0 and led a 32-yard scoring drive that ended with Longwell's 27-yard field goal just before the close of the third quarter.
Ware's one-yard rushing score in the fourth quarter put a wrap on the scoring.
Game Notes
Jackson came on to complete 4-of-6 passes for 42 yards in relief of Favre...David Carr entered in the second half for Manning and hit on 3-of-5 passes for 26 yards...Percy Harvin had seven catches for 59 yards for the Vikings, who wound up outgaining New York 487-181...Steve Smith logged a game- high 10 receptions for 57 yards for the Giants.
Go Cowboys!!!
/off topic
So did the Panthers the week before.
The New York team will drop the first two letters of their name and henceforth will be known simply as the New York Ants.
Its always about Favre. As if the game is being taken over by a single personality.
Today I recorded the game and went to see Sherlock Holmes at the theater. I made the right decision.
When I got home I fast forwarded through most of the game and just watched the scoreboard. Thank the Lord I didn't sit through the game. I was done watching in in about 30 minutes. When I saw the score go up, I would just rewind the play and check it out. Only had to do it once for the Giants!
They really were horrendous this year. If they don't fire the O and D coordinators there will be little reason to watch them. I do hope to get to the new stadium next season though!
Embarrass is being kind.
Looks like Coughlin has lost the team, and it might be time for a change.
As much as he is a pompous ass, he killed it this year. Over 4,000 yards passing. I hope they play New Orleans in the playoffs. THAT will be a sweet game.
The preseason rap was that the G-men would have a stellar defense this year. What an embarrasing slice of swiss cheese they threw out there instead. However good to see the Boys kick green bird butt out there today.
New Orleans is “one and done”. They did it with mirrors most of the season, and inevitable in this league, you get figured out.
I’m a Packer fan and would love to see Favre lose in the playoffs.
GO PACK!
Our game was boring too: we almost shut out the cardinals. We are already in the playoffs so the game didn’t matter. I took down my Christmas tree...
The Pack is reminding us of the Giants team in ‘07. Playing solidly at the end of the year and putting up lots of points—they barely lost that Pittsburgh game too and GB plays well on the road too. Aaron Rodgers is proving his salt.
It’s revenge for 41-doughnut. 44-cruller has a nice ring to it :)
This game meant nothing to us and little if anything to you in the grand scheme.
I'm not sure who I'm rooting for in the playoffs. I guess the Jets if they make it. I like Drew Breese but I hate Shockey.
But if I had to choose, I guess I would say the Colts. I like Peyton.
off subject, how was Sherlock Holmes? It’s not a lib film is it? I plan to bring my girl for a movie on Tuesday and it’s the only one we could agree on.
The only consolation was I knew the Bucs would suck this year. I am actually a little encouraged about next year. The Bucs have played much better the last half of the year.
Too bad they didn't throw Luftwich out after the first game.
The Packers did some pummeling of their own on the Cards today; and they did it WITHOUT Favre. :)
See you again next weekend!
Yeah, but the Cardinals sat Kurt Warner for rest, so it doesn’t really amount too much.
Kevin Gilbride was a flop at the OC for the Tennessee Titans in the late 90s; I was stunned when he joined the staff in NY. How we won a Super Bowl with him as a coordinator remains one of the great mysteries in NFL history.
However, Gilbride is light years ahead of his defensive counterpart, Bill Sheridan. When career back-up QBs start shredding your “D,” you know you’re in over your head. Sheridan needs to be fired tomorrow.
And, our so-called “whiz” of a GM better find some help in the secondary and at LB. And while he’s at it, see what we can get for Brandon Jacobs, too. The guy has absolutely no vision as a runner, and other teams have learned to hit him low, or simply gang tackle him. Either way, his effectiveness as an NFL back has dropped dramatically. Unfortunately, the rest of the league knows that, too, so his trade value is probably nil.
Finally, we could also use a WR with the size and skills of a Plaxico Burress. The guy’s an idiot off the field, but he sure created match-up problems for NFL secondaries, and no corners could defend him on the fade routes.
It promises to be an interesting off-season for the G-men. And the changes need to start tomorrow.
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